


What is Love?

by NoLifeAtAll



Series: Pearlina oneshots/drabbles [3]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Includes some headcanons on pearl and marina's past, bit of angst, g a y, this is so gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 19:49:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14625804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoLifeAtAll/pseuds/NoLifeAtAll
Summary: (Baby don't hurt me)In which Marina learns what love is and comes to terms with the fact she's in love with her best friend.





	What is Love?

For a long time Marina had been curious on what love was. She knew it was an emotion that was often shared between two beings but sometimes wasn’t. It could be platonic or romantic or familial.

 

She was unsure what any of that meant but she accepted it anyway.

 

Pearl was sitting on the other side of the table as they waited for the next map rotation, making idle conversation in the meanwhile.

 

A deep affection for the inkling stirred within her as she looked at her.

 

Was this what love is?

 

* * *

 

 

She was 16 and only recently arrived in Inkopolis. She had a limited knowledge on emotions. Pearl was 19 struggling to start a music career and kind enough to offer a home.

 

Pearl had been rejected by another producer and had put on what she had called a ‘TV show’ to cheer herself up. She had invited her to join her which she hesitantly did so. It was…confusing yet somewhat enthralling. Pearl had explained it was called a drama.

 

“It’s stupid but I like watching it when I feel down, y’know?” The inkling had said with an empty sounding chuckle.

 

Marina had been confused at the question at the time, only later understanding what she meant. At the time, however, she was still new to inkling culture and their language.

 

“I-I know?” she had asked, panicking inside. Should she know? What should she know?

 

Pearl seemed to realize her mistake. “Well, no, you don’t, I…” she broke off for a moment. “I don’t usually like this sorta thing, but I find it good at cheering me up when I’m feeling down.”

 

“Down?”

 

“Sad, angry…all that kind of stuff,” Pearl explained.

 

Marina nodded in understanding. “So you watch this when you’re sad…” she said slowly. “But…this show does not seem to be cheerful. How does it make you happy?”

 

“Because it’s a really bad show and it’s fun to laugh at,” Pearl said cheerfully.

 

“Oh.” She blinked and silently stared at the screen. She wasn’t sure what was going on but her friend seemed to enjoy it so she should too.

 

It reached a part where two of the characters were talking about another one. One of them – Samantha, was it? – Said they liked another one called Christopher. What did that mean?

 

“What does it mean when they say she ‘likes’ them?” She asked her companion. “If they’re friends already then don’t they already like each other?”

 

“No, not in that way,” Pearl chuckled. “Samantha likes Christopher likes her as in…more than a friend.”

 

“More than a friend?” Marina squeaked nervously.

 

“You know…romantically?” Pearl offered. “She has what we call a ‘crush’ on him.”

“A crush…” She muttered. “So she wants to be romantically involved with Christopher?”

 

Pearl nodded excitedly. “Yes, yes, exactly! Now you’re getting it!” She chirped.

 

Marina warmed at the compliment. “Am I?” she chuckled. “So, why doesn’t she just tell him?”

 

The inkling sighed but also seemed to think over her answer. “It’s a lot harder than you’d think,” she answered eventually. “I should know.”

 

“You should?” Marina questioned.

 

Pearl shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve had a few girlfriends in the past,” she admitted. “Never lasted too long and not all of them ended well.”

 

“Girlfriends?”

 

“I like girls rather than boys.”

 

“Oh. Ok.”

 

“You’re ok with that?”

 

“Why would it matter?”

 

Pearl felt herself grow to like the octoling a bit more at how easily she accepted the fact that she was gay. “It doesn’t,” she agreed with a grin. “Some people say otherwise though.”

 

“Like who?”

 

“Like my parents, some of my ‘friends’,” she listed. “There have been stories of the higher ups in certain companies too.”

 

“Stories?” Marina prodded. “What stories?”

 

“You know, uh, people being fired or treated badly because they like those of the same gender.”

 

“Oh.” Marina sighed. “That sounds like a silly reason to me.”

 

“It’s more than silly,” Pearl muttered. “It’s stupid, unfair and petty.”

 

Marina simply hummed in agreement, her attention switching from the inkling beside her to the TV.

 

The characters were still discussing Samantha’s romantic interest in Christopher.

 

Idly, she thought whether she’d ever find someone she liked in that way.

 

* * *

 

 

It had been early in the morning and she’d woken up early. Pearl had offered her a guest bedroom again but she had chosen to remain on the sofa, not wanting to take up too much space.

 

She had thought back to her time in octo canyon, specifically the rare times she had been off duty. There was very little to do but some octolings had formed a band named ‘Turquoise October’ of their own to cheer the others up. The songs had been pleasant enough but were nothing compared to the Squid Sisters at that concert.

 

Still she remembered sitting in her bunk, listening to the song and singing along out of boredom. Dull as the memories were they were some of the only good ones she had. Subconsciously, she had begun singing one of the songs.

 

What was it called again?

 

She couldn’t quite remember.

 

_Oh well_.

 

Caught up in singing, Marina had been unaware of Pearl entering the room until she heard something hitting the ground. She whirled around to see the inkling standing in the kitchen doorway, hand wide open and a glass on the floor that was miraculously not broken.

 

“Holy carp,” Pearl said with increasing volume. “YOU CAN SING?”

 

Marina blushed and looked away in embarrassment. “W-well…” she forced out. “I try. I don’t think I’m that good.”

 

“That’s not true and you know it!” The inkling laughed. “Mar, that was amazing! You have one of the best voices I’ve ever heard.”

 

Her eyes widened at the compliment and the nickname, her tentacles wriggling wildly in excitement. “Really? I wasn’t even trying,” she rambled. “I’m sure that’s not true I mean-“

 

Pearl cut her off with a sharp look. “I’m really not the type to lie about this stuff, Mar,” she told her bluntly. “Your voice is good and that song is good!” The inkling drifted off.

 

Marina watched nervously, fidgeting with a tentacle idly. “Pearl?”

 

The squid was mostly quiet except for the odd mutter of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and even ‘why would she?’

 

“Pearl, are you ok?”

 

They finally looked up at her as if she only just remembered Marina was there. “I have a suggestion…” she started then stopped then began again. “You know I’m trying to get into the music biz, right?”

 

“Biz?”

 

“Business.”

 

“Oh. Yeah, I know.”

 

“Well, as you also probably know, I’m struggling in doing that,” Pearl continued. “You told me that you came to Inkopolis because of the Squid Sisters, right? And that you wanted to stay here in Inkopolis?”

 

She nodded. “Yes, I did tell you that.”

 

“Well, maybe we could help each other out,” Pearl suggested, her eyes lighting up in excitement. “We can join together and form a duo – a bit like the Squid Sisters but different as well.”

 

Marina’s eyes widened at the suggestion but she was excited at the prospect.

 

She thought over it for a second but grinned at her friend.

 

“I’d be happy to help!”

 

Pearl’s face seemed to light up at her words.

 

She would be lying if she didn’t say that something stirred in her at the sight.

 

* * *

 

 

She was 17 and had joined up with Pearl to form ‘Off the Hook’ – a name Pearl had come up with. Pearl was 20 and having finally got a producer that agreed to take them on was reveling in their newfound success.

 

She’s struggling with her emotions.

 

Emotions are strange and foreign to her still but she’s getting better. She doesn’t know what it is she’s feeling but she feels warm and fuzzy and _good_ when Pearl is near. She can feel her 3 hearts going wild as Pearl bounces happily, her hands trapped in the inklings tight grip.

 

“I can’t believe it!” Pearl repeats for what feels like the hundredth time. “After all these years, I managed to get a producer to take me on!” She paused. “Sorry, I got a bit overexcited. I mean, _we_ got a producer who agreed to take _us_ on!”

 

Marina giggled at the squid’s enthusiasm, feeling her cheeks warm slightly at the fact she was included. “I wouldn’t say I did that much,” she mumbled. “You wrote the song and you did a lot of the singing!”

 

Pearl shook her head. “Are you kidding me right now?” she asked with mock exasperation. “Mar, I couldn’t have done this without you! Before we teamed up, no one wanted my music.”

 

“I’m sure that’s-“

 

“It’s true and everyone knows it, Marina,” Pearl sighs. She looks away for a second, seemingly thinking of something else. Marina saw a brief flash of sadness and hurt in her friend’s eyes.

 

She felt a surge of protectiveness for the inkling and anger at those who hurt them. “I’m sure that’s not true,” she told her fiercely. “You’re amazing!”

 

Pearl looked up at her with an uncharacteristically vulnerable look her cheeks flushed pink. “You know, no one else believed in me,” she whispered softly. “Not my parents, my friends…nobody, other than you.”

 

Marina’s cheeks went from warm to _burning_. “W-Well,” she started, swallowing back her nerves. “Then we’ll just prove them all wrong, won’t we? We’ll get our way to the top and show everyone who doubted you how wrong they were!”

 

Pearl grinned at her and she thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

 

“And we’ll prove to Inkopolis that an octoling can make it big in Inkopolis!” she added proudly. The squid’s usual energy and positivity returned full force much to Marina’s delight.

 

It was also now that Marina realized that she had a crush on Pearl.

 

(They went on to become the next big thing in the music scene with many saying they could overtake the Squid Sisters)

 

* * *

 

She had gotten a motorcycle license around a year ago and Pearl had even managed to find an old motorcycle for her to use. However it had recently begun to break down and it was beyond the point of being able to be repaired.

 

On the bright side, however, their debut single was selling well. Like _really_ well.

 

So well in fact that Marina could easily afford a new motorcycle with the money they’ve earned. She’s honestly astonished by that fact.

 

Pearl, as expected, is ecstatic at their success and agrees quickly to a new motorcycle. Marina’s not too surprised – the squid may not be able to drive it but she loved the thrill of the ride and the wind in her face.

It takes a little while for it to arrive but when it does both of them are excited.

 

“We need to go for a ride,” Pearl squeals, running over to the cycle.

 

“Right now, Pearl?” Marina asks, taken back slightly. The inkling nods rapidly. “Alright…let me just check over things first.”

 

After a brief check showed that it was all good and working and their helmets had been put on, they were racing through the city. Pearl’s squeals and whoops in her ear make her smile. She was grateful that the inkling couldn’t see her blush.

 

The inkling began to hum the tune to a song she didn’t recognize as they left the city. Pearl had wanted them to go to a small park just outside the city for some reason. She had said she wanted to show her something.

 

“Pearl, what’s exactly out here?” she yelled over the wind.

 

“I told you, a park!”

 

“Yeah, but what are you showing me?”

 

“You’ll see!”

 

Marina groaned but continued driving towards the destination.

 

Thankfully it wasn’t too far out of town and they arrived pretty quickly. The new bike was definitely faster than the old one - which wasn’t much of a surprise. The park was indeed small but beautiful, lit up by small lamps that marked out the path. Pearl hopped off the bike and began dragging her down said path.

 

Used to the huge expanse of the city, seeing so many trees was slightly odd but she enjoyed it.

 

Pearl led her to a small patch of grass and sat on the ground, motioning for her to join her. “You…want to sit on the grass?” She asked slowly as she walked over to join her friend.

 

“Yeah, come on,” The inkling said cheerfully. The octoling hesitantly sat next to the squid much to her delight. She leaned back and allowed herself to fall onto her back. With a questioning look, Marina followed suite. “I’m introducing to stargazing.”

 

“Stargazing?” Marina asked in disbelief.

 

“It’s when you look at the stars!” Pearl explained, pointing up at the sky. Marina followed her hand and looked at the millions of the glowing dots in the night sky. “Aren’t they pretty? You can’t really see them in the city cos of all the lights and clouds and stuff.”

“Really pretty,” Marina murmured softly. “I never thought I’d see them.”

 

“Really?” Pearl looked over at her curiously. “Why not?”

 

“I never thought I’d leave octo canyon,” she admitted. “We were forced to live underground so we rarely saw the sky. Screens were used to imitate it, sure, but it was obviously not the same thing. Didn’t help that you could see the edges of each screen.”

 

Her companion went quiet as she took in the new information. “Do you think it was worth leaving?” she asked eventually.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Was leaving octo canyon and coming to Inkopolis worth it?”

 

Marina turned to look at Pearl who was staring at her with wide eyes. She smiled softly, feeling her affection for the inkling grow. “Very much so,” she giggled.

 

“Do you regret joining me in the music biz?”

 

Marina sat up at her words. “Are you feeling ok?” she asked worriedly. “Of course I don’t regret that! Everything that’s happened since I’ve come to Inkopolis has been worth it.”

 

Pearl sighed, her eyes drifting away sadly. A small pink blush bloomed on her cheeks. “It’s just that you probably could have done much better than be stuck with me,” she grumbled.

 

“ _Stuck_ with you?” Marina barked out feeling slightly insulted. “I was _stuck_ in octo valley. I was _stuck_ in a role I didn’t want to play.” She sighed deeply. “I _want_ to stay with you. I _want_ to make music with you.”

 

She lay back down and rolled onto her side to look at Pearl.

 

“I _want_ to be in Off the Hook with you.”

 

Pearl’s faint blush rose to a strong one, making her look a bit like a tomato. “You do?” she squeaked meekly.

 

She nodded fiercely. “Yes.”

 

“Okay…okay, good,” Pearl replied as her confidence returned.

 

“Pearlie?”

 

Marina mentally slapped herself for allowing the nickname slip out.

 

“Pearlie?” Pearl chuckled at the nickname. “Where did that come from?”

“Uh…n-nowhere,” she mumbled, blushing in embarrassment. “It’s nothing.”

 

“I like it,” the inkling told her comfortingly.

 

“Y-you do?”

 

“Yep,” she chirped. “Anyway, what did you want to ask?”

 

Marina smiled uneasily. “Do you regret asking me to join?”

 

The squid shook her head quickly. “Of course not!” she assured her. “You know what else?”

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t regret letting you stay at my place either.”

 

* * *

 

 

She was 18 and her crush was only getting stronger. Pearl was 21 and only just gotten comfortable in their new position as idols when the Squid Sisters became unavailable. The great zapfish had been stolen again and the news had come with unfortunate implications for the public’s view on her it seemed.

 

She tried her hardest but she couldn’t ignore the looks and whispers that were sent her way behind her back. Thankfully, Pearl was there to glare at anyone they saw doing so.

 

With the ever-decreasing power supply, splatfests had to be cancelled until the zapfish’s return much to their disappointment. This meant no performances for who knows how long. Pearl was restless with unspent energy and Marina grew ever more conscious of the public.

 

“Ten minutes until next rotation!” called out a crewmember from off set.

 

Marina said a quiet thank you but didn’t look at them. Nowadays her phone seemed the most interesting thing in the world. It helped her ignore the inklings at the window. At least for a while – she’d eventually turn to wave at them.

 

“Maaaaaar,” pearl whined from opposite her.

 

She ignored her, flicking through inkstagram.

 

“Mar.”

 

Nothing interesting was going on it seemed.

 

“Marmar!”

 

A few more posts on the great zapfish being missing still (as if she wasn’t aware of that already!) and people sad over splatfests still being cancelled (again, she already knew that).

 

“Marina!”

 

She looked up with a huff. “What is it, Pearl?” she asked tiredly.

 

“Are you sure you’re ok? You’ve just been staring at your screen all day when we’re not presenting,” Pearl said softly in concern.

 

“It’s one way to ignore the looks I’m getting,” she explained briefly, refusing to make eye contact.

 

“Mar…I didn’t realize it was affecting you that much,” Pearl sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”  


“It’s fine, I’m good at covering up emotions,” she dismissed quickly.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“It doesn’t matter, Pearlie.”

 

“Mar, what did you mean by that?”

 

“I said it doesn’t matter!”

 

“But-“

 

Marina slammed her hand down on the table abruptly. The inkling jumped back in her seat in surprise, eyes going wide. “ _It. Doesn’t. Matter._ ”

 

There was a pause then Pearl nodded. “Okay,” she mumbled eventually, looking away from the octoling.

 

Marina pulled her hands back from the table slowly, staring at them in dismay.

 

_Of all times to lose her temper…_

 

She turned at the faint sound of muttering. A group of inklings stood at the window, talking to each other with wide eyes. Every now and again, they would point at them as they talked. One turned and noticed she was watching them and they ran away.

 

She could feel her eyes sting with unshed tears. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a jellyfish, most likely to tell them about map rotation.

 

_I can’t do this. I can’t do this!_

She whirled around and fled from the studio, ignoring Pearl calling out for her.

 

* * *

 

 

The apartment felt cold and empty that evening. Marina holed herself in her bedroom, staring at the wall opposite her bed while holding a cushion that resembled Pearl’s squid icon. It had gotten wet from her crying.

 

“Marina?”

 

Marina’s attention snapped to the door to see Pearl standing there.

 

“P-Pearlie?” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I left after map rotation finished,” the inkling explained, closing the door as she entered the room. “Wasn’t worth staying.”

 

“But map rotations don’t end until-“

 

“I don’t care,” Pearl stated bluntly. “It wasn’t worth staying if you weren’t there.”

 

Marina blushed. “Pearlie, we could lose our jobs over this!”

 

“Fuck the jobs!” Pearl yelled. “I care about you more than our job, Mar.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Well, duh. I’d pick you over them any day.”

 

Pearl blushed, looking away from her for a second. When she looked back at her there was a fierceness that she’d never seen before. “I’m just gonna get this out of the way,” she said bluntly.

 

Marina tilted her head in confusion. “Say what?”

 

“I like you,” Pearl stated quickly. Marina felt her eyes widen at her friend’s words. “As in, more than a friend.”

 

“Pearlie…” she started, unsure what to say. “I…”

 

“You don’t have to feel the same,” Pearl rambled. “Hell, you probably don’t, I just wanted to get it out there.”

 

The squid kept on rambling much to Marina’s amusement. She rolled her eyes before surging forward to kiss her friend. It was only brief but it was enough to make them both blush.

 

“Does that answer your question?” she asked teasingly, cradling her friend’s face in her hands.

 

Pearl nodded quickly. “Yeah…” she muttered, reaching up to grab her face. “Now get back here.”

 

Marina laughed, allowing her to drag her back into another kiss.

 

She could get used to this.

 

* * *

 

 

One month later and the great zapfish had returned and splatfests alongside it. The performances may be the same each month but Marina still loved being on stage, singing and dancing with Pearl. Watching Pearl dance with so much energy as she put her all into her performance remained one of her favourite things. Only now it seemed slightly different now that they were dating.

 

_Dating_

 

That was a new but definitely welcome development in their lives.

 

Marina had a faint memory of watching an awful television show with Pearl on a sofa, wondering if she would ever have a crush on someone.

 

She smiled to herself as she reminisced about the memory as she began to walk over to the keyboard.

 

As per routine, Pearl was walking in the other direction and would walk past her.

 

What wasn’t on the routine, however, was Pearl spinning around and grabbing Marina to press a brief kiss on the lips.

 

There were a mix of excited squeals and confused yelling.

 

Marina couldn’t care less.

 

She was in love and happy with that, winking at Pearl and watching her blush.

 

_This_ was what love is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest thing I've ever written, just saying o.o
> 
> Please leave kudos/feedback!


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